The World Bank Gives 15 Trillion Rupiah Aid for Disasters in Indonesia

News24xx.com -  Funds of USD 1 billion were given for recovery in Lombok and Central Sulawesi. The World Bank assistance will partly be distributed to the poorest 150,000 families for 6 months to one year.

The World Bank officially announced Sunday (14/10) that it would provide funds of US $ 1 billion or around 15 trillion Rupiah as loans to the Indonesian government for reconstruction efforts in areas affected by natural disasters in Lombok and Central Sulawesi.

Kristalina Georgieva, CEO of the World Bank Group, revealed an agreement to provide assistance to Indonesia in the IMF-World Bank Annual Meeting 2018.

"Disasters will continue to occur, and due to climate change, there will be more disasters," said Georgieva, who previously visited the city of Palu to see firsthand the impact of the earthquake and tsunami that occurred in Central Sulawesi last September.

"The best warning we can build for disaster victims is to do better development, so that another time when a disaster occurs, fewer people will be affected, fewer lives will be lost, and less damage will occur," he added. 

Is the loan burdensome?
This assistance is a continuation of the results of the talks between Vice President Jusuf Kalla and the CEO of the World Bank. The assistance provided by the World Bank is in the form of a long-term loan which according to Kalla will not burden the government because the loan from the World Bank can reach 35 years.

In addition to funding assistance, the World Bank will also provide a USD 5 million grant for technical assistance to ensure that the reconstruction process is implemented in the near future. From the assistance disbursed by the World Bank, cash transfer funds will be given to the 150,000 poorest families affected by the disaster for a period of six months to 1 year. 

The funds are provided to support the social protection system that sustains the economy and local employment during the recovery period.

Difficult help process
The city affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Central Sulawesi is now entering the reconstruction phase, after Vice President Jusuf Kalla as the leader in handling the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Central Sulawesi stopped the evacuation of victims last Thursday (11/10), although around 5,000 people were still reported missing.